Mongolian President says he supports Russia-China oil and gas piplines through Mongolia

Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh said on Thursday that he supports the construction of oil and gas pipelines from Russia to China via Mongolia.

Speaking via translator at a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Khurelsukh backed the plans, proposing studies of their economic feasability.

Khurelsukh said: "We also support the construction of oil and gas pipelines to supply natural gas from Russia to China through the territory of Mongolia and propose to study this issue from the viewpoint of technical and economic justification".

Russian energy giant Gazprom hopes to build the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline via Mongolia to China with a view to exporting 50 billion cubic metres of gas per year via the route by 2030. No plans for an oil pipeline via Mongolia have yet been formally proposed.